Decriminalization of drug use, making the transition of the issue from the judiciary approach to the area of health; implementation of a policy of harm reduction; and regulation of the law governing drug policy in Brazil, differentiating the consumer from the drug trafficker and from the ones who make armed control of territories. The discussion of the 3rd Meeting of the Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy (CBDD) revolved around these key issues presented at the beginning of the event by the President of the Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy, Paulo Gadelha. read more

Confirmed the presence Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the Secretary of Legislative Affairs of the Ministry of Justice Felipe De Paula, and the congressmen Paulo Teixeira and Raul Jungmann. The governor of Rio, Sergio Cabral, has been invited and will also be present. read more

The Commission's second meeting

By Mônica Cavalcanti

On October 23th, 2009, was held the 2nd Meeting of the Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy (CBDD), which was attended by special guest Rafael Pardo, former defense minister of Colombia and coordinator of the Security Plan in the country, culminating in the fall of Medellin Cartel.

At the first meeting of CBDD in August this year, a consensus among the members was the impact particularly acute in the Brazilian case of discussions between the illegal drug market and urban violence. Given this, the theme for reflection and discussion in this second meeting will be on organized crime, public safety and drugs and urban violence, in fact more than current matters, taking the circumstances that the population has been faced in recent times.

read more

Set for the last week of October, the second meeting of the Brazilian Commission on Drugs and Democracy will center on the topic of urban violence and institutional corruption, two of the most damaging side effects of both the illegal drug trade and the “war on drugs” policy.

The drug policy debate has been given new life in Latin America over the past few months, thanks to the emergence of new actors. Until recently, challenges and criticism to drug prohibitionism came almost exclusively from youth or civil society organizations. But over the past five years this policy is being challenged for the first time by people with very different profiles, such as Brazil’s former present Fernando Henrique Cardoso. read more